


good crimes

by flagpoles



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:42:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22355818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flagpoles/pseuds/flagpoles
Summary: “You look terrible” Sirius said to Lily, who did.“The fringe does not react well to heat.” She opened the fridge and stuck her head inside it.Sirius, in a show of great maturity, did not say ‘I told you so’. Lily, who knew he was thinking it, said “Shut up” anyway, so what was the point.-(Sirius & Lily, left in London, living together)
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black & Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 36
Kudos: 276





	good crimes

> _let us be trivial, let us be intimate_

\- Virginia Woolf 

_/_

_Lily Evans_ to _Sirius Black:_ do u think i should get a fringe

 _Sirius Black:_ depends if u want james to fuck you again

 _Lily Evans:_ harsh

 _Lily Evans:_ a fringe wont effect my GREAT boobs

 _Lily Evans:_ ive rung mar im doing it anyway get fucked

 _Sirius Black:_ have fun becoming a born again virgin just to spite me

//

“Do you think Jane Austen could’ve written more convincingly about love if she’d been married?”

Sirius, lying on his bed scrolling through Twitter and ignoring Remus’ emails, didn’t look up.

“Jane Assrim?”

“Jane Austen,” Lily flopped onto the bed and made Sirius drop his phone down the side of it. “I’ve just read the most infuriating article”

Sirius, phoneless, not quite ready to let the joke go: “Jane Offramp, did you say?”

“- think you have to married to write about love? Is it a fucking prerequisite? And what does ‘write convincingly about love’ even mean? Like _Sense and Sensibility_ isn’t fucking incredible _-”_

“That was a good movie.”

Lily turned to him, “I know you read the book.” He had, but only because it was cheaper than getting Lily a birthday present last year.

“He said _Sense and Sensibility_ would’ve been more convincing if Jane was married?”

“Yes. I mean, I’m paraphrasing, but yes.”

“She wasn’t?”

“No. Do you listen when I talk?”

“Not if I can help it.”

“Pity. Maybe then you’d be better at pub quizzes.”

“One time!” Sirius shoved his hand down the side of the bed, grasping for the phone, “One fucking quiz! I’d had eleven gins!”

“It was seven gins _”_

“Thirteen gins!”

“Seven, at best.” Lily sat up, “I don’t know what to do about this, I’m thinking about scrapping my entire thesis to exclusively write about why this guy sucks one.”

Sirius finally grasped the phone, “That sounds unwise.”

“We won’t know till I’ve tried it.”

“I think we know now.”

“Buzzkill. Go have another gin.”

//

_Sirius Black_ to _Lily Evans:_ you home for dinner tonight

 _Lily Evans:_ ill be in

 _Sirius Black:_ im going to combine spaghetti and baked beans in a pot and make spaghetti beans 

_Lily Evans:_ im out

 _Sirius Black:_ ive bought wine

 _Lily Evans:_ back in

//

“You’re not naked in there are you!”

“Why would I be naked?”

Sirius poked his head around the door holding a cup of tea. Lily was sat on the bed, laptop open, fully clothed. He ventured inside. “’Heard Potter and didn’t want to interrupt kinky shit.”

“We’re trying to decide how to email my landlord about mowing the lawn,” James’ voice, crackly, through the laptop, “But if that does it for you Black I’m not judging.” He’s wearing a top that is definitely Remus’ and hasn’t bothered to button it.

“Have you brought me a tea?” Lily asked, sweetly.

“No. I came to ask if you knew where the sieve was and Potter’s out here with his shirt undone like this is a porno.”

“Sorry for turning you on this early.” James said, gleeful.

Lily leant back against her pillows. “Give me the tea and I’ll tell you where the sieve is”

James, the traitor, laughed. Sirius squinted. “Are you kidding.”

Lily held out a hand and after taking a second to weigh his options (leave, sieveless, back at square one or hand over the tea, make a new one, gain sieve). Sirius gave her the mug.

Lily blew on it. “We don’t have a sieve” She said, solemnly, and James howled. Sirius lunged for the tea.

“Kidding!” Lily swooped it out of his reach as James continued to make inhuman noises that were surely annoying at least half of the California population, “Top drawer above the oven!”

//

_Unknown_ to _Lily Evans:_ lill

 _Unknown:_ its siriius

 _Unknown:_ am out lost phone pls call uber

 _Lily Evans:_ where are you

 _Unknown:_ nandos on main

 _Lily Evans:_ the one where i broke my heel or the one you and james are banned from

 _Unknown:_ banned

 _Lily Evans:_ number plate is JKY879 u have three minutes 

_Unknown:_ thank u lpve u

//

_James Potter_ to _Sirius Black:_ call me

 _Sirius Black:_ you call me

 _Sirius Black:_ im not paying three pounds a minute for you to tell me to check my email

 _James Potter:_ its not abt emails

 _James Potter:_ we’ll bill it to the company

 _Sirius Black:_ we are the company

Sirius let the phone ring four times before he picked up. “’Bill it to the company’ are you mad?”

“I’ve literally left a meeting to ring you and you can’t even pick up quickly. What was the name of that guy from that 2014, that investor, hated us-”

“All of them.”

“But he liked Remus-”

“Again, all of them.”

“-had that terrible tie, remember? It had birds on it and his last name was, like, ‘brain’ or something and he got really shitty when we wouldn’t stop going on-“

“Harvey Brain. Pronounced Bry-an” Sirius said, instantly, “We nicked those mints they had in reception.”

“Brilliant. ‘Ring you when I’m out of this.” 

//

“You look terrible” Sirius said to Lily, who did.

“The fringe does not react well to heat.” She opened the fridge and put her head inside it. 

Sirius, in a show of great maturity, did not say ‘I told you so’. Lily, who knew he was thinking it, said “Shut up” anyway, so what was the point.

//

_Lily Evans_ to _Sirius Black:_ so help me god. if the dishwasher isnt empty when i get home. i will murder you. actual and full death will come your way

 _Lily Evans:_ this is not a joke i will actually kill you sirius

 _Sirius Black:_ mark zuckerdick if ur reading these she rlly is threating me

 _Sirius Black:_ call mi6

 _Lily Evans:_ ill happily go to jail if people empty the dishwasher there 

//

“I need you to come get me-“

Lily sat up, “Who is this?”

“Fuck off” Sirius’ voice, annoyed, vaguely drunk but mostly not, “I know you know”

“I was asleep.”

“You don’t sleep.”

She avoided that. “What happened?”

“Bar. Fight. He started it.”

“Oh really.”

“Believe me, would you?”

“I try but it’s hard seeing as I know you.”

“Don’t tell the boys. I’m in Croydon.”

“ _Croydon?_ ”

“Don’t start. I’ll pay your cab fare.”

“You won’t”

“I _will_. Be quick.”

Lily, already with shoes on, “I’m not even out of bed”

“Liar.”

“Do I need bail money?”

“I’m at the hospital”

“ _What_?” Lily’s heart, suddenly in her knees.

“Bruised ribs. It’s nothing. They won’t let me walk out alone.”

“Hospital?-“

“Some snitches. Black eye. It’s nothing. You should-“

“ _Don’t_ say ‘see the other guy’-“

“I was going to say ‘see me’ by which I mean hurry up-“

“Ungrateful!” Lily pulled on a fresh shirt, hands reaching for her house keys, “Watch yourself or I won’t come.”

“You bloody will.”

“Yeah.” Reaching for the door handle, “hey-“

“Yeah?”

“No murders?” their dumb code meaning, _you good_? Meaning: _do I have to kill for you_? Meaning: _I would, just say._

“No murders.”

“See you in forty, don’t say-“

“Speed.”

“Asshole. I hope I get every light.”

//

_Lily Evans_ to _we’re not calling the company massivesoft:_ remus tell potter anytime he wants to talk to me and not my boss i am available

 _Remus Lupin:_ isn’t he talking to you??

 _Lily Evans:_ he always rings me on the work phone hes been talking to narelle for fifteen minutes 

_James Potter:_ dont be jealous that narelle and i have a special relationship

 _Lily Evans:_ didnt think my greatest threat would be my 57 year old boss and yet

 _Remus Lupin:_ yeah i had bets on sirius

 _Sirius Black:_ honestly me too fuck up narelle

//

“Would it fucking _kill you_ to _remember anything_ -“

“Moony, hold on-“

“I’m serious-“

“Actually I’m-“

“ _Fucking don’t I swear to Christ-“_

Sirius grinned, rubbing sleep out of his eyes, “I forgot, shit- I forgot about the call, I’m sorry.”

Remus sighed, bone-deep and familiar, “I need you on those things. Otherwise I just get-“

“- Walked over.”

“ _Out-negotiated_ -“ He sighed again.

Sirius bit his lip, “Did it go well?”

“I rescheduled. I can’t do that shit without you.”

He smiled. “World’s worst lawyer.”

“This is _business._ It requires a blind confidence and ability to bullshit which-“

“- I contain in multitudes.”

“Look at you, quoting me.”

“If you were any good at business you’d bill me for that.”

Remus snorted. Sirius could picture it, Remus, exhausted, rubbing his face over his computer, almost laughing. “I am sorry about missing the call.”

“I know.” Remus, leaning back against his office chair, head to the ceiling, phone to his ear. Sirius could feel it like a toothache. “It’s bullshit that you’re not here. If you were here I could force you onto the phone.”

“Oh Moony, it’s almost like you miss me.”

“It’s this heat, it’s making me fucking crazy. How are you, anyway? Lil said she’s growing out the fringe due to your bullying.”

//

_Sirius Black_ to _Lily Evans:_ what the fuck is in the fridge

 _Lily Evans:_ is this about the bird

 _Lily Evans:_ the neighbours cat was eating it!! i had to bring it inside

 _Lily Evans:_ the bin was full and we’re out of bags i didn’t know where else to put it

 _Lily Evans:_ i thought if i left it out it would start to smell

 _Lily Evans:_ I wrapped it up!! i couldn’t just leave it!!

 _Lily Evans:_ can’t believe im getting roasted for caring about nature

 _Sirius Black:_ was actually talking about the skim milk but glad we got the bird thing out of the way

//

“Mar’s coming round,” Lily said, “She’s bringing wine.”

“I thought you had that test thing.” Sirius was eating sour cream with a spoon right out of the pot. 

“That was today, it went fine. But Nathan sent Mar a follow request on Instagram, then messaged her on Facebook to ask if she’d gotten it.”

“Hence the wine.”

“Yeah, he’s not blessed with your moves.” Two years ago, drunk on New Year’s Eve, Marlene and Sirius had fucked in Remus’ bed. This was a source of constant amusement for everyone, except briefly for Remus while it was occurring.

“What I have can’t be taught.”

“But it can be caught,” Lily took the sour cream out of his hands, “You’re foul. We’re making popcorn.”

//

_Lily Evans_ to _Sirius Black:_ remus just told me what him and james call us

 _Sirius Black:_ is it not our names

 _Lily Evans:_ the lady and the tramp

 _Sirius Black:_ HA

 _Sirius Black:_ found my next tattoo

//

“Your party sucks.” Lily said, shutting the sliding door. Inside, she hears a glass break.

“Most of them are your friends.” Sirius, chain-smoking over the balcony, didn’t look over. Lily walked over to stand next to him.

“It’s the music that’s the problem.” Mary’s voice, mixed in with thumping drum and base, seeped under the door, apologising about the glass. The balcony was littered with cigarette butts. “Twenty-three, Black. You’re proper old now.”

“Tell me about it.”

“We need some Springsteen.” She said, which actually meant _we need James._ “Whose playlist is this? Where’s Born to Run?” Sirius doesn’t say anything.

The horrible thing was, when James had first told her about the Visa issue she’d thought it was funny. It was funny, to everyone, at the time. Sirius, on some USA Visa watchlist because of some prank he’d pulled on this mother at fourteen that grounded two planes and killed four seagulls. Now, in the dark, in this year, it seemed entirely less funny. James and Remus in Silicon Valley, setting up the company for real and Sirius, left behind. Eleven again, still.

He flicked his cigarette to the floor and crushed it with his foot, still hunched over the railing. Lily put her head on his shoulder and hummed the chorus of ‘Hungry Heart’ quietly, and Sirius is pulled back to this year, twenty-three, with broken glass inside the flat, grounded again.

//

_James Potter_ to _exclusively business:_ god this accountant smells like cheese

 _Sirius Black_ to _exclusively business:_ that’s not very businessesy

 _James Potter:_ ur right

_James Potter_ created the group _cheesy accountant_

 _James Potter_ added _Sirius Black, Remus Lupin_

 _Sirius Black:_ are you seeing the accountant for the business though??

 _James Potter:_ god right again

_James Potter_ created the group _exclusively cheesy accountant business_

 _James Potter_ added _Sirius Black, Remus Lupin_

 _Remus Lupin:_ is this why ur in the goddamn bathroom james get back here

 _Sirius Black:_ does he smell like cheese moons

 _Remus Lupin:_ it is pungent yes

//

“The service here is terrible.” Sirius said, slumping on the counter and looking awful.

“He means can we please have some fries.” Marlene said, looking marginally better, wearing Sirius’ jacket.

“Funny,” Lily skated over, “Didn’t sound like it.” 

Marlene grinned, “Rollerblades day?” Sirius’ head jerked up.

“Jay’s here so Narelle is making us.” Lily said, flatly, and pretended to charge them, “Swipe your card, or something.”

“Every day should be rollerblades day.” Sirius was recovering quickly, “No one rocks The Blades like you do-“

Lily ignored him. “At least pretend to swipe a _debt card_ Mar, what is that?”

Marlene held it up, “My library card.”

“I’m going to start calling you ‘Blades’, recognise your talent-“ 

“Go away.” Marlene and Lily said, nearly in unison. Sirius held his hands up and slunk off.

“He was basically in a coma this morning,” Marlene swiped her library card, pretended to type a pin, “I had to drag him here, this is giving me an error notice by the way.”

“Stop pressing buttons, was it a good night?”

“It was alright. I lost him” she jerked her thumb to Sirius, collapsed against a table, “But ended up seeing him later. Wish you were there- I think I’ve broken this machine. It won’t give me my card back-“

“Christ, how have you _done this-“_

“ _Me?_ It’s _your_ machine-“

“When are you even _at_ the library-“

“Are you saying I _can’t read-“_

“ _What?_ When did I say _that_ -“

“I’ll pull this side, you pull the other-“

“That is a terrible idea- _“_

“Ready?”

Sirius, appearing from nowhere, yanked the card out in one swift motion and presented it to Marlene. “McKinnon, I didn’t know you couldn’t read.”

//

_Lily Evans_ to _James Potter:_ you awake

 _James Potter:_ its two over there go to bed

 _Lily Evans:_ yeah yeah

 _Lily Evans:_ wanna hear my voice

 _James Potter:_ god yeah

 _James Potter:_ give me two minutes im about to go through a tunnel ill ring you

 _Lily Evans:_ see you on the other side

 _Lily Evans:_ ‘god yeah’

 _Lily Evans:_ you wont get this till ur out of the tunnel but shit im mad for you

//

Lily hit Sirius in the face with her bag strap, “Wake up.”

He didn’t flinch or open his eyes, “What?”

“Jesus, you’re not even asleep.”

“Yes I am.”

“Liar. Get up, you said you’d come with me to this thing.”

“The Masters mixer?”

Lily rolled her eyes, “It’s a mixer-“

“- a Masters mixer-“

“ _\- for_ Masters students. There is no need to give it a name.”

“But ’Master’s mixer’ rolls right off the tongue.”

“Get up-“ Lily hit him with her bag this time, “You said you’d come-“

“Ow-“ eyes open now, “Those things suck, everyone always thinks we’re dating.”

“I’ll tell them you’re my brother.”

“That’ll never work, I’m way better looking than you.”

Lily turned away, “Right, you’re uninvited-“

“Hey!” Sirius’ arm shot out, grabbed her wrist.

“I’m Masters Mixing _without you-“_

“You said I could go!”

“Invitation _rescinded.”_

“Come on! I’ll wear a tie!”

Lily looked smug, “You are so predictable.”

“Please,” Sirius sat up, “You’d be so bored without me there.”

Lily, who would be, said: “I’ll say you’re my step-brother”

“You can still date your step-brother.”

“Not with a clear conscience, you can’t. Get up, I’ve rung a cab.”

//

_Sirius Black_ to _Lily Evans:_ sleep nutty professor

 _Lily Evans:_ just had major breakthrough with The Thesis i cant

 _Lily Evans:_ also tell the girl/guy/person ur with to not drink all the milk tmrw theres barely any 

//

Sirius, stationed outside the Lily’s room, banged on the door again. “C’mon Evans!”

James, distantly, from the phone hung by Sirius’s leg. “Maybe she’s not in”

Sirius put the phone back to his ear, “I know she’s in,” He continued to bang but returned to James, “Does this mean you guys are going to be meeting Bill Gates?”

“Dunno. I guess it’s his money so, like, maybe? Oh God-“

“If you met Bill Gates without me I’m going to be so fucking pissed-“

“How could we met him _with you_ you’re _in London-“_

“EVANS! OPEN UP! WE HAVE MONEY NEWS!” Sirius returned to the phone, “You’ll probably get a picture with the ghost of Steve Jobs or something, God, I’m already annoyed about it.”

“If we met Steve Jobs’ ghost I promise to put him in a jar and send him home.”

“You had better-“ Sirius, who had paused in his banging to finish the Steve-Jobs-ghost threat, could hear something coming from the other side of the door. Music, played just low enough for someone who didn’t want people outside to be able to hear. “She’s playing the _Sense and Sensibility_ Soundtrack.”

“What?” James’ whole tone changed, “Is she alright?”

Sirius banged again, “Evans!” Nothing. She turned the volume down.

“Are you sure its _Sense and Sensibility?”_ James, insistent.

“Of-course it is.” Sirius banged on the door again, “Evans, What’s wrong?” No answer.

“Do you think there’s any chance it’s because I look a little bit like Hugh Grant and she hasn’t seen me in eight months?” He sounded a little desperate.

Sirius snorted. “You do not look like Hugh Grant.”

“Sirius-“

“Honest to God, do you actually think you look like Hugh Grant?”

“Would you-“

“Total opposites, honestly, never looked less like a person-”

“Sirius,” James cut him off, “Something might be really wrong, you have to let me talk to her.”

“Oi, Lil!” Sirius called, “Do you think James looks like Hugh Grant?”

A voice, thick, from behind the door: “Fuck no.”

Sirius knocked again, politely, letting the phone drop to his side (James, distantly: “I said _a little,_ put Lil on, _Christ_ -“). Lily opened the door, face red, puffy eyes, hand gripping the door edge.

Sirius stared, James forgotten. “What happened.”

“Petunia is engaged.” Lily’s voice, raw and wrong, “To Vernon. Eliza Hunt told me at the supermarket.”

Sudden flashes of Petunia, the only time he’d ever met her, sat in the back of Lily’s twenty-first, pinched and whispering. “Whose Eliza Hunt?” This seems as good a thing to say as any.

“Our old neighbour. She got an invite to their engagement party last week.” She sniffed, rubbed a hand over her face. Sirius couldn’t think of anything to say, except that he wanted to throw Petunia into a very deep ocean.

“What’s the news?” Lily asked. She looked so tired. He cannot remember the last time she’d slept.

“Bill Gates’ foundation is giving us a ton of money and James is going to post me Steve Jobs’ ghost.”

Faintly, Lily smiled. “Is the money to buy the ghost?”

“Nah he’s going to steal that, moneys for the business.” She smiled again, stronger. Jackpot. Sirius handed the phone to her, James’ voice barely audible. She reached for it, and he gripped it tightly, only for a minute. “Hey.” She looked at him, red eyes, hand out-stretched. He can read her backwards.

“I’m good.” she said. He kept looking.

“No murders?”

“Yeah,” half-smile, “No murders.”

//

_Remus Lupin_ to _Lily Evans:_ tell him to check his fucking emails im going fucking feral

 _Lily Evans:_ will do

 _Lily Evans:_ he says so be it 

//

“Keira Knightley’s in it.”

“Is it _Pirates of the Caribbean_?”

“No-“

“Why isn’t it? Let’s watch _Pirates of the Caribbean_ ” Sirius, lying across the couch, kept throwing remote in the air.

“Just because you think you look like Orlando Bloom-“

“I _do_ look like him-“

“Only if you shut your eyes and drop acid-“

“ _Hey-“_

“We are _not_ watching _Pirates of the Caribbean_ again. You’ll like _Atonement_ , I promise, it’s like an epic war love story-“

“So like _Pirates of the Caribbean_ but without-“

“- He’s not your twin-“

“ _My twin-“_

Lily rolled her eyes, considered pushing his legs off her lap, didn’t: “You can’t only watch films because you look a little like one of the actors.”

“So you do think I look like him!”

“ _No_ I said _think you look like-“_

“You said ‘look a little like’! Ha!”

Lily pushed his legs off her lap. “If you look like Orlando Bloom then I look like Molly Ringwald.”

“Nah, you know who you look like,” Sirius tilted his head, “The kid from _Finding Nemo_ with the braces. The one who holds the fish in a bag.”

“Oh my God-“

“Only a little-“

“You suck. You fully suck.” Lily was laughing.

“Let’s watch _Finding Nemo_! See your twin for a change-“

“You’re pushing it now.”

“Fine, maybe twin is a little strong. Cousin.”

“Second cousin. And you and Orlando could be, like, half-brothers if I have two beers and squint.”

“I’ll take it.”

//

_Sirius Black_ to _Lily Evans:_ what the fuck

 _Sirius Black:_ evans its three

 _Lily Evans:_ sorry i dropped a tray promise ill b quieter

 _Lily Evans:_ dont worry im not making brownies again

 _Sirius Black:_ thank god those were shit

 _Lily Evans:_ fuck you

 _Sirius Black:_ you were the one that put them in the bin

 _Lily Evans:_ go to bed judas

//

“We’re trying to stay positive.”

“I’m not trying that hard.” Sirius confessed, and Lily punched him on the arm before going back to the phone.

“We’re just waiting for the locksmith. If we _still had a spare_ this wouldn’t be happening, but-“

“If you took your keys!-“

Lily punched him again, and Sirius groaned and fell back against the grass.

Over the phone, Marlene finally composed herself. “You two are tragic. Come ‘round and sleep here.”

“Can’t, we said we’d wait around. You could come here though.”

“And lie on the lawn in the middle of the night with you and Mr Positive? I’ll pass.”

“Hey, Sirius,” Lily held the phone away from her ear, “I think that’s an ant’s nest.”

Sirius leapt up so quickly he almost hovered in the air. He stared at the empty ground, wide eyed, before turning back to Lily, who was laughing so hard she’d dropped the phone.

“Oh, very funny, you’re hilarious. McKinnon,” he picked up the phone, “You’ve got to get over here, I’m going to kill Evans and I need you to call the cab to move the body.”

//

_Sirius Black_ to _Lily Evans:_ ive bought eggs and cheese

 _Lily Evans:_ ur cooking tonight so looking forward to the meal of cheesy eggs

 _Lily Evans:_ sirius im kidding please dont make that

 _Lily Evans:_ sirius

//

Lily took the phone and didn’t even say hello, “You’ve got to stop ringing,” she said, meaning none of it, “Narelle really thinks you’re on the verge of investing. It’s not on.”

“Hey, I always say I’m ‘thinking about’ investing,” James pointed out, “I could be _thinking about_ anything. I’m _thinking about_ finishing my engineering degree, I’m _thinking about_ ringing my mother, I’m _thinking about_ investing in your diner-”

“it’s not my diner-“

“it will be when I invest in it. One of my stipulations.”

“Wouldn’t that be buying the diner?”

“Don’t get all technical on me, Evans.”

“Apologises. You were saying you were going to give me the diner.”

“Yes, what a great boyfriend I am.”

“You’d be even better if you just gave me the money.” Lily spun the phone cord around her finger, grinning as James laughed.

“C’mon, I’d let you rename it and everything. ‘Lily’s’ has a ring to it.”

“Unoriginal.”

“What would you call it?”

“I dunno. ‘Star Wars’ or something. Get some publicity off the lawsuit.”

“Moony would defend you.”

“Ah yes, with his degree in financial law.”

“I didn’t say he’d be any good at it.”

Lily smiled. “How’s California?”

“Boring without you guys.”

“Don’t let Remus hear you say that.”

“Eh, he’d say the same.” James paused, “Sirius alright?”

Flashes of Sirius, flushed, spread on the carpet, _What if everyone was right?_ Head lolling, party over, _I don’t know where I’m going. I thought I’d know._

“Yeah. Last night he tried to make you guys a Wikipedia page.”

James snorted, “He’s been trying to do that since high school.”

“Don’t say ‘he’ like you weren’t also trying.”

James, again, grinning. She can tell from an ocean away. “You sleeping?”

“With other people? No.”

“Thank god for that, but really. My sources say you’re even more awake than usual.”

“Sirius doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“ _My sources_ are actually highly knowledgeable.”

“But still can’t make a Wikipedia page.” He doesn’t say anything, and Sirius is such a traitor. He has him worried. “I’m fine, really. Just a bit of a weird one. I’m going to sort it out.” She meant it.

“Okay. Don’t be pissed off at my sources, Marlene also ratted you out.”

“Terrible mates.” Lily lied.

“Yeah, worse luck, having people give a shit about you. Just wait till you own the diner, then they’ll only want you for your money.”

“Tell me about it, why do you think I’m with you?” And again, miles away, he laughed.

//

_Lily Evans_ to _crab on the cob:_ sirius just started doing karaoke

 _Remus Lupin:_ I didn’t know byo’s did karaoke

 _Lily Evans:_ neither did the owner

 _Lily Evans:_ the whole byo is now singing take on me

 _Lily Evans:_ we’re doing mamma mia next

//

Lily tapped on the window and Sirius, smoking outside, swung around. She pointed to other side of the bar, past the people, where Marlene and Nathan were grossly making out against the pinball machine. Sirius made a face, stamped out his cigarette, and went inside.

“Christ, you can see the tongue from here.” He took the beer out of Lily’s hand and drank some, “No respect for the festivities.”

“At least someone is getting some.”

“Aw, Lil,” he nudged her arm, “I’ll hook up with you if you want.”

“I’d rather eat glass, but thanks though.”

“Anytime.”

She took her beer back from him. Mary, a few feet in front of them, was drinking a ghastly pink thing that James used to call flamingo piss, and talking to Diner Natalie (as Sirius called her) about Love Island. Narelle, who had gotten wind of the party, was standing by the counter arguing with the bartender about the peanuts on offer.

“Twenty-three Evans,” Sirius said, echoing her, “You’re proper old now.”

“Still younger than you though.”

“Funny how that works.” He took her beer again. She couldn’t remember when they had started drinking the same brand. It had been such a long year, but next month the boys would be home for three weeks and this morning James had sent flowers and Remus a vase, and Sirius said he’d pay the water bill so technically it was a three-way gift. You could practically hear Remus’ eyeroll through the phone. They were too good to be believed.

“’Glad I live with you.” Sirius said, suddenly, holding her now finished beer. “You’re- I’m just glad. I’m glad it’s you.”

Lily looked at him, “Me too.” She said, and squeezed his wrist. He knocked a hand against her thigh. This was the real gift.

“Offer to hook up still stands.”

Lily laughed, “You know, if you think about it you’re one hook up removed from Nathan.”

“ _What?”_

“You fucked Mar, Mar is now getting felt up by Nathan. That’s, like, one degree of separation. I’m not getting with anyone whose gotten with Nathan-“

“Okay, wow, I have not _gotten with-_ wow, this is low, I’m being nice and you’re out here saying I’ve fucked Nathan-“

“Hey, no judgement and no murders and all that, but I have ground rules-“

Sirius, laughing, “I hate you. That’s my ground rule.”

Lily, singing: “And happy birthday to mee-“

“God, get away from me. I can’t believe I’ve accidentally hooked up with Nathan.”

“Maybe getting me another beer would make you feel better.”

“Wow, you’re always looking out for me, huh?”

“You know it. Make sure it’s chilled, would you?” 


End file.
